BIAPA Honors Four at 2024 Conference

The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania honored four people at its 2024 Conference in Lancaster.  Steve Holefelder received the Pioneer in Brain Injury Award; Damon Slepian received the Service to the Association Award, Amy Casarella received the John Sears Inspiration Award, and Howard Blumberg and his family received the Dennis Minori Family Tribute Award. The award recipients are pictured below with BIAPA President Madeline DiPasquale and Past President Ann Marie McLaughlin.

Steve Holefelder has worked in the field of brain injury rehabilitation for more than 30 years.   He has been a pioneer in developing client services and interventions that have supported brain injured individuals and their families regaining a sense of meaningful life activities.   As an occupational therapist, he has been one of the pioneers of community integration-focused sessions.   He works compassionately and creatively with clients to assess their interests and capacities and to develop stable activity patterns.  He had used innovative strategies to help clients live as independently as possible.  In many cases he has developed volunteer placements or return to work plans that have remained in place and brought the client satisfaction for many years.  Steve has collaborated with many employees to have them support therapeutic work trials in which, with staff coaching and support, the client is able to resume productive employment.  He has worked with clients to support their efforts to accept revised goals or abilities after their injury and to feel capable and productive in new roles and relationships.  

Damon Slepian has served on the BIAPA Board of Directors for 10 years, during which he served as a vice president and chaired the Financial Oversight Committee. Thanks to his professional expertise, BIAPA was able to survive the pandemic and to develop new initiatives and approaches to support the organization going forward. His insights and contributions have been invaluable. Damon believes in BIAPA’s mission, and he lives its values. He understands the role BIAPA plays in supporting survivors and caregivers, and he has established and strengthened a framework that will allow the association’s programs to continue to serve the brain injury community. BIAPA thanks Damon for his dedication, creativity, expertise and guidance. 

Amy Casarella survived a stroke in 2020 and three brain surgeries, and she continues to have seizures. Despite these physical challenges, she gives much to her community.  She is a graduate of Bryn Mawr Rehab’s Project SEARCH, and she was the main speaker at its Graduation. Currently she works at Paoli Hospital and volunteers at Bryn Mawr Rehab. Amy cycles multiple miles on Sundays with the Pennsylvania Center for Adapted Sports, and her cycling was featured on the local news in May 2024.

Amy has had to overcome many obstacles and losses in her life, including partial paralysis with her stroke and having her beloved daughter pass away. With all that she has had to face, Amy could have become bitter and she could have withdrawn from life, but she has a gift of turning her pain, grief and challenges into a passion for helping others through their difficult times. Amy, in her work and her friendships, is able to show and share her emotional vulnerability with others, thus giving them the knowledge that they are not alone, that someone has empathy for them, cares about them and shares their life difficulties.

Amy has a wonderful sense of humor; she is an inspiration to many people and a staunch supporter of peers/patients at her jobs and of her friends in the brain injury community. She is part of a group of brain injured persons who met at a brain injury retreat last year. That group recently held a fundraiser to offer more people the opportunity to attend similar retreats. Amy gives her all to whatever she does, and she was the top fundraiser of this group.

CLICK HERE to view a video about Amy

Howard Blumberg was about 12 years old when he was riding his bike near his home and was hit by a car, sustaining a very severe brain injury.  He is now 56 years old, lives in his own apartment, is employed, and has received pay increases, bonuses, and recognition from his past and current employers for his dedication to his job and his work performance.

Howard deserves recognition for his achievements, but he would be the first to say that the love and support he has received from his father Ken, his mother Nora, his sister Stephanie, brother-in-law David, and his two nieces, that has contributed to his successful journey over the past 40 plus years.  He has far exceeded the initial post-injury expectations. Two brain injury providers – Community Skills Program and ReMed – have assisted Howard in various ways over the years.  His mother Nora’s unwavering and extremely effective advocacy for insurance funding for timely, beneficial post-acute rehabilitation services has resulted in continuing services for Howard.

Howard’s parents never missed our family/team meetings with Howard and gave very salient input into his treatment planning and implementation. Nora also supported and attended Howard’s presentation on the survivor panel at a past BIAPA Annual Conference and Mind Your Brain Conference in Philadelphia.  This tribute to The Blumberg Family does not even begin to describe their part in Howard’s post-injury recovery. Sadly, Howard’s father, with whom he enjoyed a wonderful relationship – attending sports events and playing golf with him, died in April. But the strength of The Blumberg Family will help them all face life’s challenges and transitions with fortitude and resilience.

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